The city of Chicago, Illinois is known by many names, but “Second City” is perhaps its most famed moniker. Why don’t Chicagoans take offense to being awarded the silver medal with every off-hand reference? The term Second City doesn’t actually refer to a backseat position, despite the mistaken opinion that it is in fact in deference to New York City, which would be the First City, were it true. No, the Second City refers rather to the second incarnation of Chicago. Little do many visitors know, today’s Chicago looks nothing like the original might have were it allowed to grow and prosper, aside from the obvious technological and architectural improvements. The entire city was forced to start over in 1871, following one of the most epically destructive blazes on record. The Great Chicago Fire, as it came to be known, altered the shape of the city forever, allowing the Second City to rise up from the ash and forge its own rightful place on the map.It is believed the fire started close 9 o’clock on Sunday night, October 8^th in a shed behind 137 De Koven Street, near present day University of Illinois-Chicago. Today the Chicago Fire Academy and Fire Department Training Division are both housed on De Koven Street in remembrance. Popular lore states that a cow started the fire by kicking over a lantern, though there is no verified factual basis to support this conclusion. At that point in history, Chicago’s buildings were primarily wooden structures, not the high rising glass and metal skyscrapers we commonly associate with the urban center today. Chicago had been mired in a drought for some months in the time leading up to the fire, combined with the wooden facades only fed the flames as it quickly spread outwards. An estimated 40 minutes had passed before the city’s fire department first received word, and when the firefighters were finally summoned, rumor has it they were dispatched in the wrong direction. By the time fire fighters actually arrived to the scene, the fire was too large to contain. So large were the flames, and so hot was the heat, rooftops ahead of the blaze began to catch fire. The massive inferno managed to jump the Chicago River, aided by strong winds, wooden plank sidewalks and roads, and ships lining the river. As the flames mowed down downtown, destroying any and all structures in their way, firemen knew their time was limited as once the fire engulfed the city’s waterworks and cut off the water supply there would be little they could do. Soon, the city’s residents were forced to simply move to safety and watch their city burn before their eyes.When the fire finally subsided,2,000 acres had been destroyed, including more than 73 miles of roads, 17,500 buildings and 222 million in property, an astronomical number in those days. Almost a 4^th of the city was left homeless, taking the lives of an estimated 200-300 residents (thankfully a small number for a disaster of such magnitude). Some structures did manage to survive the fire, including St. Michaels Church, Chicago Avenue Pumping Station, Old St. Patrick’s Church and the Chicago Water Tower, now recognized today as an unofficial monument to the catastrophic event.